The New Testament tells the story of Jesus, the promised Christ, and the beginning of His church. In it, we find the good news of the Kingdom of God, our King’s teaching, the revelation of God’s nature and character, and what it means to follow Christ. We hope that our study of the New Testament books helps you understand the love of God more fully and to love Him and others with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.
Before Jesus leaves His followers, He tells them that the Father would send them a Helper, the Spirit of Truth and that this Spirit would be in them. In this lesson we look at the relationship of the Spirit with the Father and the Son, the personality of the Holy Spirit, whether the Spirit actually lives in
In this lesson we continue our study of the Holy Spirit. We turn to important passages from the Old Testament that reveal the Spirit as the guide on our journey from spiritual slavery, through the Wilderness of this life, to heaven. We also look at the critical role of the Spirit in guiding the writers
The night before Jesus died, He promised the apostles that the Holy Spirit would teach them "all things" and guide them "into all truth." The idea that the faith was handed down to the apostles complete, with no improvements or changes to follow later, has revolutionary implications for the church today. In this lesson we
A third of the world's population calls itself Christian. Yet most believe that following Jesus and making it to heaven do not actually require obeying what He taught. In John 15, Jesus provides an allegory of the Vine and the branches, a beautiful picture of how to understand our relationship with Jesus and what is
Jesus, the Son of God, through whom the universe was made, opens the door in John 15 for everyone to become His friend. But what does it mean to be Jesus' friend? What blessings did Jesus promise to give His friends? And what did Jesus say was required to be His friend? This lesson answers
In John 15, Jesus promises that the world will hate His followers. In this lesson we look at what Jesus had to say about persecution, including why the world will hate His disciples. We also look at examples of martyrdom and accounts of Christian persecution in the early Church. May Jesus' teaching on persecution and
Jesus has much to say in his farewell discourse. In this passage, we learn more about Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit. Jesus also speaks directly about His departure and return. Jesus then begins to pray, with a focus on the glory He shares with the Father and His longing to return to His Father's
In John 17, Jesus prays that His followers may be one as He and the Father are one. The goal of this unity was so that the world might know that God sent Jesus and loved the world as God loved His Son. Sadly, not only does this unity not exist today, but most Christians
In our 2019 summer retreat in Pennsylvania, we laid a foundation of what the Scriptures teach about the Holy Spirit. In this follow-up lesson and in light of those foundational teachings, we review much of Paul's letter to the Ephesians and, perhaps, see this letter in a new light. We discover Paul has much to say
Judas, accompanied by armed troops, discovers Jesus and the eleven other apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane. After Jesus identifies himself, Peter draws his sword and cuts off the ear of the high priest’s servant. This short scene is packed with lessons for us including: the danger of greed, a remarkable but little-known prophecy regarding